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After running the World Marathon Majors Grand Slam in 2023, it was always going to be a bit of a come down not running them all in 2024. I was very lucky to be able to run all of the World Marathon Majors in 2023, but it is not affordable or realistic to run them all every year. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to. This year, I was able to run 4 of the majors: London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, and New York City Marathon.

London Marathon 2024

London Marathon is my favourite Marathon of the year. It was the 12th time I was lucky enough to run the London Marathon in person.

This year, I was the 4:40 pacer. This was a slower pace than I usually run, but it was fantastic to have the opportunity to run with a whole different group of people with alternative goals to those I usually run with. The crowds were as good as ever, and I think it has the most consistent crowd support of any of the majors. Arguably, New York City Marathon has some busier sections with fantastic crowds, but the spectators for London just seem to be everywhere.

Berlin Marathon 2024

Living in the United Kingdom makes it really accessible to do Berlin Marathon over the weekend. I will often travel just for 1 night, but this year, I went for a little longer with my family. I ran Berlin Marathon for the 8th time, once again pacing 4 hours. The conditions were perfect, and it was a great event. The course felt busy and crowded from start to finish, but my sub 4 hour group were fantastic.

Chicago Marathon 2024

Whilst everyone raves about New York City Marathon and Boston Marathon is the illusive event everyone wants to qualify for, the Chicago Marathon is underrated, in my opinion. It has great crowd support, a great route for PB / PR, and a great finish after party. The conditions were pretty perfect, and I was pleased to run the Chicago Marathon for the 5th time, Pacing 4 hours.

There were so many happy faces at the end of Chicago helping a lot of runners achieve sub 4 for the first time.

New York City Marathon 2024

Finally, I returned to Pace 4 hours at New York City Marathon for the 4th time. It was extra exciting because my family was able to come with me and enjoy Halloween in New York. Usually the dates don’t work for half term so I often go briefly alone, but this year we had a lovely holiday taking in the city.

I was a little concerned with the temperature rising before the event, but it turned out pretty perfect in the end on race day. The course felt noticeably busier than normal, but mostly, it was not a problem. There were a couple of sections that got busy and crowded. One big improvement was in Central Park, where last year this was so crowded with people taking up half the course, but the barriers were effective this year and it meant there was so much space in this section. The crowds throughout and especially the last 5 km were amazing as usual.

In total, I have run 32 World Marathon Majors altogether,  but 1 full loop. I would need to run Tokyo Marathon again for my second siz star medal. I am excited with the idea of a new challenge for a 9 star medal, and whilst it may take a while, I’m looking forward to the challenge. First up, Sydney Marathon will be the 7th World Marathon Major.